English Language Schools are not paying teachers money they are owed while telling them they will not be able to access government financial aid unless they continue to work online, a union has claimed.

The Union of Professional Educators – Voice of the Workers said many of its members who worked in such schools had been left “stranded with no pay for hours worked in the month of March”.

Schools have not given teachers a clear indication of when they will get paid and told them they must continue to work online, the union alleged.

But when faced with teachers’ reluctance to do so until they got paid, “these employers informed their teachers that should they refuse to work under the current conditions, the application for government grants on their behalf would not be forwarded for processing,” the union claimed.

The union has accused the schools of breaching employment law and warned that they face criminal action by the Department of Industrial and Employment Relations.

It did not say which English language schools it was referring to.

English language schools have been among the industries hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic, with bookings having rapidly dried up in March. By March 11, schools had to contend with around 4,000 cancelled bookings.

A financial aid package unveiled last month for coronavirus-affected businesses will ensure workers in the industries forced shut due to the pandemic will be guaranteed at least €800 a month. The financial aid is applicable from March 7, when the first COVID-19 cases were reported in Malta.